reading roundup: 2012

I did not meet my goal of reading 52 books this year, but I came in pretty darn close at 47. And I even blogged about them all! Here is a rundown:

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu
Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Room by Emma Donoghue
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Catfight: Women and Competition by Leora Tanenbaum
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller
1Q84 by Hiruki Murakami
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Odds by Stewart O'nan
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston
Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti
The Boyfriend List (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, and Me, Ruby Oliver) (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away by Eric Wilson
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It by Charles Duhigg
Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel
A Little F'ed Up: Why Feminism is Not a Dirty Word by Julie Zeilinger
MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search For a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche
What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
The Selection (Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Uglies (Uglies #1) by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld
Specials (Uglies #3) by Scott Westerfeld
Extras (Uglies #4) by Scott Westerfeld
Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the Economy by Joseph Stiglitz
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

I wish I had this book when I turned 20.

Jay discusses how the 20s are an important development period of everyone's life and how 30 is not the new 20. She discusses how in your 20s, you make some of life's most important decisions: what you will do, who you will marry, and whether or not you will start a family. She explores each of these topics in turn and uses vignettes from her clients (she is a counselor) to highlight certain aspects of work, love, and biology (what happens to your mind and body in your 20s). Jay emphasizes that the 20s are meant to be a building block of the rest of your life: where your career begins, who you will love, and how your body changes during these years. I think I will be talking this book up to all of my friends.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I was on the hold list for what seemed like forever at the library! Finally, I got the book and it only took me a couple of days to read since it is so short. The story centers around Charlies, an introvert who is beginning his first year of high school at the start of the novel. He is shy and unpopular and concerned about how and where he will fit in, along with concerned about his sister who always seems to be choosing the worst guys. Early in the school year, he becomes friends with Samantha (Sam) and Patrick, who are step-siblings. Charlie soon has a crush on Sam, but she is very emphatic that nothing will ever happen and she will not see him "that way." Charlie goes on to date a girl named Mary Elizabeth, who is part of the group, but in a game of Truth or Dare, he ends up kissing Sam, who he believes is the "prettiest girl in the room," leading to an end to his relationship with Mary Elizabeth. As the year progresses, Sam dates a guy named Craig, but eventually Charlie learns that Craig's cheated on Sam the entire time they dated. Craig is pressured by his friend Peter to end it with Sam since she is taking the relationship a lot more seriously than him, and he does. Charlie also mentions his Aunt Helen rather fondly throughout the book, but an incident awakens the true memories of Aunt Helen, which land him in the psych ward. His friends and family all come to visit him while he is in the hospital, and he is eventually released.

Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the Economy by Joseph Stiglitz

I took my very sweet time reading this one, and I am not sure why since it drew some amazing conclusions. Stiglitz summarizes in this book what occurred when the housing bubble burst in 2008 and the incidences leading up to its event (since certain legislation was repealed 10 years prior to the bust). He discusses the irony of why when a financial crisis happens in a third world country, Americans tell them that they need to go the austerity and regulation route, while when it happens in America, a different medicine is used. The most interesting part, to me, was when Stiglitz posits that when this dichotomy occurs, maybe when the time comes, third world countries will reject democracy based on what they experienced compared to what Americans did to deal with market failure. I found that to be an extremely interesting concept.

Extras (Uglies #4) by Scott Westerfeld

I finished Specials and read this in the hopes that it would tie up some loose ends that it left hanging (and perhaps give me a better ending, too). Alas, I was disappointed. This is set three years after the end of Specials where the world is free of the operation that occurs to make everyone pretty (and turn stupid) when they turn 16 years old. Everything had also changed so it became a "reputation economy," where people receive merits (money) based on their popularity (how many times their name is said). People who are not above a certain threshold are considered "Extras." Aya is an Extra who desperately wants to be popular, so she ends up following a group called the Sly Girls in the hopes of "kicking" the story and becoming famous. Following them ends up to be more than she bargained for and leads to a bigger story than she could have ever imagined when they see what appear to be aliens moving things from a train to inside a mountain. These things end up being large metal cylinders that are believed will be used to attack the city. Who are these aliens? And will they really attack? What about when Tally and David said they'd protect everyone at the end of Specials?

Specials (Uglies #3) by Scott Westerfeld

Tally has become a Special, hunting the Smokies who had helped her and Zane before they were discovered with the Smokies. Now everything revolves around finding the New Smoke. But Tally loves Zane and wants him to become a Special just like her, but suffers from the brain damage caused by the pills they took as Pretties. To monitor Zane, the city has outfitted him with an unbreakable necklace, so to prove how Special he really is, Shay and Tally break into an armory to steal something that will destroy the necklace, but inadvertently destroy the armory, making the city believe that they are under attack from a different city or the Smokies. Tally and Shay release Zane, who then go with a pack of Crims to the New Smoke. Both Tally and Shay track them, but soon Shay goes ahead of the Crims while Tally stays to make sure Zane is okay. Eventually, the New Smoke is reached and instead of being a small camp in the wilderness, is a whole city. Tally finds that Shay and the other Specials that are with her (known as Cutters) have taken something to cure them of their icy mindedness. Tally doesn't want to change and fights it, and leaves the city to go back to Special Circumstances and confesses who really destroyed the armory. Does Tally ever find her place in society? 

Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld

After Tally turns Pretty, she enjoys the Pretty lifestyle in New Pretty Town: parties all the time, getting drunk, doing mindless Pretty things. But a visitor from her past comes to her during one of the parties and tells her that something is hidden in a room. She goes on a hunt with Zane, one of her new Pretty friends, and discover two white pills and a note she had written to herself before she decided to turn Pretty. Zane and Tally split the pills, each taking one, and soon their minds are changed and everything is more bubbly. Other people in their clique (known as the Crims), notice the change and want to know how else they can be bubbly and soon everything becomes a competition for who can become more bubbly. Eventually, the Crims do the most bubbly thing ever: they break through a hovering ice rink, which sends a signal to the Smokies that the pills did work. However, Zane has come down with terrible headaches and Special Circumstances are breathing down Tally and Zane's necks, leading them to be trapped in bracelets they can't escape, no matter how much weight they lose. With Zane's increasing headaches, will they be able to escape back to the New Smoke for a cure for Zane or will they end up trapped in New Pretty Town forever?

Uglies (Uglies #1) by Scott Westerfeld

This book centers around Tally, an Ugly who yearns to be a Pretty and cannot wait until her 16th birthday when that will happen. The youngest of all her friends, she is the last to have the operation that makes her beautiful: perfect doe eyes, full lips, hair that lies flat. But she meets Shay (with whom she shares a birthday) who tells her that being Pretty is not what it seems and tries to convince her to run away to a place called the Smoke, where people never have the Pretty operation. Tally, appalled at the thought of remaining Ugly for the rest of her life, balks and decides to remain in Uglyville. But the day of her birthday and right before her operation takes place, Special Circumstances takes Tally to the outskirts of town and tells her that she has to go to the Smoke before she can be turned into a Pretty. She eventually relents, traveling by hoverboard for days on end, searching for the Smoke from clues that Shay had left her in a note. Eventually she finds it and is initially appalled by them: full of Uglies, chopping down trees, eating wild animals, who would ever want to live that way? But slowly she learns more about the Smoke and the truth about what happens when you turn Pretty. She decides to stay in the Smoke and hurls the necklace that she was supposed to use to summon Special Circumstances into a fire. Unbeknownst to her, she accidentally calls Special Circumstances, who find the Smoke. Does Tally and her Smokey friends escape, or do they all turn into bubbleheaded Pretties?

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

I read this book in pretty much 26 hours, from when I began to when I ended since it is very much similar to Walls' Glass Castles book. Unlike Glass Castles, which is Walls' memoir, Half Broke Horses is about Walls' grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, and her life living in west Texas and Arizona. Smith's life begins in west Texas, where her family is stuck taking what the weather will give them, in terms of flash flooding and drought, until their house is destroyed by a tornado. Then they move to Arizona onto a ranch they had been renting. There, Smith learns to break horses and has all sorts of adventures, such as going to boarding school and teaching 500 miles away from home when she was 15 years old. How did she get to her job? By riding solo on horseback for almost a month. She eventually moves to Chicago to experience life in the big city, where she meets her first husband, who, after six years of marriage, she discovers is a bigamist who had a wife with three children before marrying her. She leaves him and moves back to Arizona, trying to carve out a life for herself teaching. She has many adventures, such as learning to drive a car and fly a plane and even gets her bachelor's degree and teaching certificate when she was 40 years old. I definitely recommend this book if you want to get a real glimpse of living on a ranch in the early- to mid-1900s.

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

This book is about Cinder, a cyborg, who is living in New Beijing after World War IV. She has a stepmother and two stepsisters (much like Cinderella) who are getting prepared for a ball for Prince Kai. One day, when she is at her shop in the market square, Kai approaches her and wants her to fix his robot. She agrees to it, and meanwhile, her stepsister Peony comes down with letumosis, something similar to the Black Plague and has no known cure. With Peony sick, Cinder's stepmother Adri enlists Cinder to be tested for a cure for letumosis, knowing full well that all those tested never live to tell about it. While in the lab, it is discovered that Cinder is immune. She finds out that she is really Lunar, from a colony on the moon, but it is illegal for Lunar to live on earth. Knowing that this must be kept a secret, and despite Kai's persistent courting of her, she decides to run away, but then finds out imperitive information that Kai must know. Will she be able to get to Kai in time or will she go through with her plan to run away to Europe?

The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

Cass writes a story about America, who lives in a post-World War IV United States, now known as Illea, where there is a caste system in place ranging from Ones to Eights. America is a Five, which is the artist caste, and is in love with Asper, who is a Six, and would be a union that would be frowned upon if it came to fruition. The prince if Illea, Maxon, has come to age where he must find a princess. Any girl aged 16-20 can enter their name into the Selection. Thirty-five finalists are chosen, America being one of them, even though she has no intention of becoming a princess and is only doing it to help her family and because she promised Aspen she would, before he broke up with her after realizing that he could never provide the life for her that he thinks she deserves. America makes it known to Maxon on the first night in the palace that she is not interested in him, but does not want to return home to face the heartache left by Aspen. Maxon keeps her in the Selection and they become friends, with America serving as his insider with information on the other girls. Slowly, America takes a liking to Maxon, who is falling for her hard. But rebel forces keep attacking the palace, leading to a draft. Aspen is drafted and is stationed at the palace, which reignites their romance. Who will America choose?

 

Book 2, The Elite, will be released on April 23, 2013.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

I think this is a book every manager needs to read. Pink discusses what motivates people at work. I thought it would be more about general life stuff, like what "drives" us to finish a project or lose weight, things along the lines of The Power of Habit, but I was still not disappointed. It made me realize what is important to me in the work environment, like a flexible schedule (and how "flex time" doesn't count...a truly, whenever-you-want-to-work-as-long-as-you-clock-40s schedule). I think managers could learn a lot from reading this because it would make them want to know their employees better and learn what is truly important to them. Would they prefer a higher salary and less vacation time or more acknowledgement of a job well-done instead of higher pay, etc? 



The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I had seen this book for quite a while and knew it was popular and had great reviews on Amazon, so I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. I have to say...I am glad I did. It is a memoir, with Jeannette detailing her life growing up, the places they lived, and her family's relationship with each other. I had a hard time putting it down and finished it tonight after only starting it on Sunday, four nights ago. I found it so unbelievable (and I don't mean this in a rude way) that people actually choose to live as she did. That is not to say that she enjoyed how her family lived; although she did for the most part, except for the time they lived in West Virginia, but that was for about six years... Her story starts with her first memory, of being three years old and making hot dogs on a stove wearing a frilly pink dress. She has to make them herself since her mom is too busy painting/being an artist. This unfortunately leads her to catch on fire and stay in the hospital for six weeks getting skin graphs. That is only one story of an unbelievable life. I absolutely recommend this book.  

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman

I love me my Paul Krugman, but I just had the hardest time getting into this book. Maybe it is because his End This Depression Now! is more timely, but I was also blown away by the list of things that politicians should distinctly not do and how many of them are actually doing them. Like how you should not try to cut spending and pay off your debt (austerity) when you are still in recession/depression mode (like how Europe/Germany is expecting that of Greece/Spain/Italy). As I kept reading, I felt like this particular list kept getting longer and longer...all these no-nos that the governments are pursuing contrary to economic theory and what really works. Take Paul Ryan, for instance; his plan to cut spending would wreak havoc on the economy like no other, and to implement these changes at a time when more people need them is just ludicrous. But that is what politicians are doing. Some people expect the Fed to do more, and there is only so much Ben & Friends can do to help without actual policy measures (like the JOBS Act) being implemented. In the end, more stimulous is needed to help America get out of this trip. For international matters, Germany needs to chill out and understand that what they are doing is contrary to what should be done and in the end it will bite them. I think I read that it is already predicted that Germany will be back into a recession by the end of this year because of the austerity measures they are forcing on the rest of Europe.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs

I really enjoyed this story. I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago, but have been tardy in posting my review... Anyway, it is about a boy named Jacob that seems most ordinary, but has a slightly obsessed grandfather who has a stockpile of weapons and believes that some sort of creatures are after him. Jacob knows of his grandfather's tall tales about when he lived in Wales and the people he knew and the adventures he went on. But then one day, his grandfather is drug to the forest behind his home and killed. Jacob witnesses the murder and sees that it is the same sort of creature that his grandfather always talked about, and is struck with horror. Jacob slips into a depression and his parents send him to a psychiatrist who suggests that he go to Wales to see if the rest of his grandfather's stories were true, especially the one about a house on a hill run by a Miss Peregrine. He and his father go to Wales on what is assumed to be a witch hunt, but Jacob soon learns the truth of his grandfather, Miss Peregrine, and the creatures that killed him. Unfortunately, Miss Peregrine and her wards are being saught by the creatures and Jacob is the only one that can help him. Will he choose to stay with Miss Peregrine and her wards or return to America with his father? Lately, I have been itching to go on a trip or adventure, and this book helped to satisfy those desires.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This is a book that has been on my radar for a couple of months and when I moved, I got the lovely opportunity to place it on hold...and be number 300 on the hold list. But lucky, lucky me found it at the library as a "lucky day" copy, so of course I snagged it since I was so darn curious. I don't really read books like this; I think the closest is probably the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. ANYWAY, the book is set up in three parts (I won't divulge the name of the parts and ruin it for anyone), and each chapter alternates by being told from the point of view of Amy's diary or Nick, Amy's husband. The story begins on Nick and Amy's fifth anniversary. Nick is at The Bar, a bar he and his twin sister Margo ("Go") own, when a neighbor who lives across from Nick and Amy calls The Bar to let Nick know that his front door is wide open (a very unusual occurrence). Nick goes home to investigate and finds the living room upturned and Amy nowhere to be found. The police are called and they find the first clue in the treasure hunt that Amy creates for Nick every year for their anniversary. Between the clues and where they lead Nick, the unusual circumstances surrounding Amy's disappearance (such as the bump in her life insurance policy), and Nick's lack of an alibi, everyone believes he is guilty. But as the story goes on, more and more things don't add up. Where is Amy's body, if Nick really did murder her? And if she is alive, as Nick is adamant that she is, where is she? This one definitely had me going, even to the very last page.

What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank

I had very, very high hopes for this book, but was unfortunately greatly disappointed. It seemed to be more like a single examination of a state (a state that the author is from, by the way), rather than a set of ideas about states that are conservative, even when it won't benefit that particular set of beliefs (and what I was hoping it would really be like). The biggest thing that I came away with after reading this book is that Republicans forever promise changes in this, that, and the other thing (like outlawing abortion, lowering taxes, and smaller government) when in reality, once they're elected, they seem to do whatever they please. The most important part that Frank mentions is that even though Republicans promise to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is really only the Supreme Court that can do that. I have so many friends who vote Republican on this single issue, and I never understood that, and now I especially understand it even less. Why vote for a political party for one reason when that one thing they campaign on will never happen? I can't imagine what Europe would think of America if abortion was outlawed. Just another backwoods thing those durn Americans are doing...who understands those Americans?

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search For a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

I love love loved this book. It really resounded with me, especially because all of my high school friends had moved away from home, and then I did, too, two weeks ago. So I find myself in a new city with like two friends besides my boyfriend, which lends itself to a pretty lonely existence, especially now since I am all graduated with my MLS from UNT and don't have homework to keep me busy. ALSO, my job just moved, and I was one of the last to come into this new coworker group, and everyone seems to have their own friends already and aren't interested in me, or making more, or something. ANYWAY, about the book and not ME, the author chronicles her year-long mission to go on 52 girl-dates, as she calls them. She goes through all the different methods and ways she used to meet people and make friends, and it is really comprehensive, going from friends of friends to rent-a-friend (which is crazy, IMO, and super sketchy). Also interspersed are factoids on the science of meeting and making friends, which was really interesting. I definitely recommend this!

A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism Is Not a Dirty Word by Julie Zeilinger

I must say, I am very impressed that Zeilinger is 19/20 years old and wrote this. I had to get that out of the way. So, basically, this book is a great overview of feminism, including a little more than an overview, but not in-depth, discussion of the history of feminism, like the first, second, and third waves and the big players of each movement. I personally really enjoyed that, even though I am not a big fan of history, but because I am pretty new to this whole feminism thing and didn't know the waves and what each one did, etc etc. I'd recommend this for anyone wanting to dip their toe into feminism or just wanting to know what it's all about. Unfortunately, I do have the same complaint about this book as I did with Jessica Valenti's: what is with all the cursing??? Are you doing it to be tough, or break gender roles, or what? It doesn't matter if it's a male or female or whoever, I just do not appreciate all the cursing in these books.

Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel

I remember when this book was added to the library in Kelso (way back when in like 2006), but it was my first book to check out at Fort Vancouver! The cover was always alluring...maybe you can see why. So anyway, it is about Nathaniel ("Nat," a journalist) and how a mysterious lady who looks like his dead ex-gf (Annie) from 4 years ago passes by his table at a cafe and leaves a note warning him that it will explode soon and he must leave. He is more intrigued by the woman, since Annie's body was never found after she disappeared on a boat, than by the note, and ended up leaving the cafe anyway after her. The second he stepped out of the cafe, everything went boom, and he and a waitress (Erin) are the only ones to survive. Everything is super mysterious and Nat is desperate to find Annie (if she really is alive and who he thought he saw) since he is still deeply in love with her. Things turn sour quickly when he becomes friends with Erin and she tells him about one of her friends that died and his computer addiction. One thing leads to another, and soon Nat and Erin are the number one suspects of the cafe explosion while also trying to understand what is on Erin's dead friend's computer that made him lose his mind. The entire time I read this, I knew there was something I was missing...that the author was for sure holding something back from me! And of course there was. I won't spoil it for you.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It by Charles Duhigg

I love love loved this book! It was like Imagine on crack (and much more applicable to real life). I feel like I learned so much and it could be applied to any area of life. It begins with the basis of habit and what happens in your brain when you are learning something new vs after you have been doing the same thing for a while and know what to expect (a "reward"). My mind was quite frankly blown learning that brain activity levels spike before a reward is earned when an activity is done out of habit. Duhigg used the examples of monkeys and juice, and rats/mice and cheese. It also explains why I, at least, have a tendancy to "space out" when doing extremely repetitious things (like my job)...it is a habit. Then Duhigg moved into specific people/situations where habit occurs and why addictions (habits!) are hard to break. I definitely recommend...!

Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away by Eric Wilson

This book I had ridiculously high hopes for. I thought it would be a morbid version of Imagine, but alas, it was not. It was essentially a random smattering of stories of morbid things people like/enjoy, such as horror movies. Pretty boring and non-cohesive, do not recommend. The only, only, only upside of this book is on a personal note. For years, my family has owned a freaky children's book with bizarre stories, words cannot describe its weirdness. But as soon as Wilson started talking about Struwwelpeter, I had a feeling it was this book we own. So I Wikied it (see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struwwelpeter to get a feel for the strange) and lo and behold, there it was. The way I knew, you ask? The boy with the crazy fingers. You don't forget an image like that.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is a very...different...sort of story. I had heard really good things about it, but not necessarily what it was about. Midway through it, I was reminded of the book Maine I had read last fall, a book that was basically without plot, but very character-driven. I think The Book Thief falls under the same category. Even now, I cannot think what the plot really was of this book. The story centered around Liesel during World War II Germany, when she is becoming a teenager and Nazism is sweeping the country. It basically is 550 pages chronicling life over 4 years on Himmel street in Molching, with life including hiding a Jew, stealing books (thus the title), and avoiding first kisses. The first couple chapters really confused me and nearly turned me off to this book since it is told from the point of view of Death (not someone who typically narrates a story), but I stuck with it and finished it, and don't really feel like I have anything to show for it. I'm open to hearing other opinions...maybe there was something I missed?

The Boyfriend List (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, and Me, Ruby Oliver) (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart

This book is the first in a quartet of Ruby Oliver books (all published, since this book is from 2005 or so). Ruby Oliver (goes by Roo) is your stereotypical high school student, where every interaction with a boy must be discussed with your closest friends (and recounted to your shrink) and made a much bigger deal out of than it deserves. And sometimes, your friends woo your beau, which makes him dump you and go out with her, leading no one to talk to you and leaving you as a "leper." I was quite honestly disappointed with this book, considering how much I enjoyed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, which characterized a strong female who wouldn't take no for an answer. I yearned for Roo to be like Frankie, but alas, she was not.



Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti

This book is a really great intro to feminism, although slightly outdated since it is from 2006, but also makes it interesting to see what is going on now (namely, the War Against Women) compared to where women were 6 years ago. Let's just say...it seems like things have gotten worse, much worse, particularly regarding women's choices, like abortion and the "personhood" movement (which, amazingly, is not a new idea since Valenti discusses it here). I do have a couple of issues with this book. I understand that Valenti is from Queens and blah blah blah, but does she really have to say "I shit you not" a million and a half times, along with all her cursing? She also does not fully research particular subjects, or just assumes what she knows to be true or thinks things are odd and assumes the reader will agree (this reader does not). For example, this reader had a grave issue with Valenti's misunderstanding about purity rings and purity balls and pledging purity. She does not think that this is important to some people, especially religious folks who believe the Bible when it says that you should not have extramarital sex, and that includes premarital sex. It is part of a religious belief system and she should not want feminism to change that. It is also up to each person to decide what they believe regarding that. Another issue I had is that she sees labiaplasties is frivolous when in fact, some women desperately need them because their labia are so long it hurts for them to walk or sit in certain positions. All things said, I was already a follower of feministing.com and will continue to read it. She didn't need to advertise it so much, but oh well.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston

This is the most unusual of stories. Not told in a typical fashion, this is an actual (fictional) scrapbook that Frankie Pratt created of her life, starting with her romance with a married man (the married part unknown to her) and going to college in Vassar. It leads to her adventures during her life, about living with a roommate in college and meeting the roommate's family, about romantic steps and missteps, and travelling. A book I definitely recommend, if only to look at the ephemera from the 1920s.

End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman is pretty darn amazing and level-headed, especially when it comes to economics. Well, I'll be darned, he even received one of those Nobel Prize thingies! How this story goes it that it is essentially a recap of how we got to where we are and how to get to where we need to be, aka people with jobs and a growing economy and away from austerity measures. He talks about all the different parts of the economy and how they interact...especially about gridlock in Congress (it is ridiculous that the GOP has pledged to not raise taxes to Grover Nordquist...I thought they were supposed to serve America, but what do I know), the issues that Europe is having and how that could cross the Atlantic, and kind of has with the GOP wanting to cut spending without raising taxes, or having to offset a debt ceiling increase with spending cuts...so frustrating to me!...and also what the Fed could do to help things along. It really was a very interesting read and it sounds like a deceivingly easy solution to get America back to full employment (aka 5% unemployment), but I doubt it will happen, as Krugman does, too. He even says at this rate, it will take 5-7 years for us to get back to full employment, and he does call what we are in a depression, not just a recession or Great Recession. It is also really interesting to read the exerpts at the beginning of each chapter--some are taken from during the Great Depression and scarily echo current sentiments and others are from only a few years ago declaring that the recession was over and we were on the path to growth. I enjoyed Krugman so much, don't be surprised if you see more reviews of his books here.

Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer

I really, really enjoyed this book. It is about exactly what it says it is. It begins by explaining where creativity happens in the brain. The book as a whole is divided into two sections; the first is about creativity on your own and the second about creativity in groups. I found it absolutely amazing to find out that larger cities have more patents due to its citizens' interaction with one another, essentially bouncing ideas off of one another. There were a lot of other gems in it, and all the examples from Pixar to a degenerative brain condition that leaves people especially creative before killing them just blew my mind (pun not intended). I definitely recommend this book.

The Odds by Stewart O'nan

Every chapter in this book begins with an odd, like 1 in 6 marriages make it to their 25th anniversary. The book centers around Marion and Art, a long-timed married couple up against unemployment, bankruptcy, house foreclosure, and divorce, but give it one last go at Niagra Falls on a second honeymoon. While there, they bring thousands of dollars with them in the hope to not only rekindle their romance, but to also gamble their way out of debt. Art had had an affair twenty years prior, and so had Marion, but with a woman--an affair she has not told Art about, nor plans to. Finally, after three days in Canada, they have all their money traded into chips and set out to get back what they lost in life.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This book was a much, much faster read than 1Q84. It helps that it was YA and only took me 3 days to read. It is about Hazel, a 16 year old who lives with lung cancer, who meets Gus in a cancer support group for teens. Gus is missing part of one of his legs from cancer, but has been cancer-free for a while. They immediately click, but Hazel worries about Gus being more interested in her than she is with him, but eventually that worry is resolved. She introduces him to her favorite book (that ends mid-sentence) and Gus to his favorite book (which is part of a series that she breezes through). Through this, they create a budding romantic relationship. Hazel tells Gus about the times she has written to the author of her favorite book, and he also writes to him, but emails it (rather than snail mails it). He ends up getting a response--amazingly!--and the author invites them to visit him in Amsterdam. Gus then informs Hazel that he had not used his Wish (she had already to go to Disney), so they will go to see the author! During their time in Amsterdam, their relationship deepens and they found that the author was not quite how they pictured him would be. Also, Gus revealed a secret to Hazel that changes their relationship forever. 

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Sorry for my long absence, but it took that long to read this behemoth of a book! Behemoth meaning 925 pages. This story is told from two (and three, but mainly two) points of view. There is Tengo, a 30 year old cram school teacher, and then you have Aomame (literally meaning "green peas," an unusual name), a 30 year old fitness instructor. They are brought into the world of 1Q84 under odd circumstances, with the easiest identifiable characteristic being two moons in the sky. Tengo, in addition to being a teacher, also is a writer on the side. His publisher go-to person gets in contact with him and wants him to rewrite a book called Air Chrysalis, originally written by the 17 year old Fuki-Eri about things that are assumed to be fictional. But as time goes on, things that occurred in the book actually happen in the world of 1Q84 (like the two moons). Aomame, at the same time, has a side job in addition to martial arts instructing: she kills gentlemen who abuse their wives or girlfriends. An rich, elderly student in her class (known only as the dowanger) finds this out through extensive research and commissions Aomame under false pretenses to help her learn more about self-protection and eventually appeals to Aomame to kill a man known in a religious commune (Sakigake) as Leader. The dowanger is also a proponent of abused females and has a safe house on her property. One day, she finds a girl who had obviously been sexually abused by Leader, and it is at this point that she commissions Aomame to be a part of an elaborate rouse to murder him. Somehow, Tengo and Aomame are linked (I won't give it away) and must find each other so they can both escape this world known as 1Q84, but everything works against them. Will they find each other? Even if they did, can they escape 1Q84?

Taft 2012 by Jason Heller

Taft 2012 is written as though William Howard Taft disappeared in 1913 and then magically reappeared in 2011. He struggles to understand current society and technology--Google, Twitter, and the rights of African-Americans--while also finding new-found fame as a presidential possibility. (*spoiler alert*) Through a "random" uprising (?), the Taft Party emerges wanting Taft to run for president, which he does, until he realizes who is really behind the Taft party. I found this novel entertaining at first, until the author's obvious political beliefs crept in (legalizing marijuana, promoting vegetarianism/veganism, animal rights, food regulations...just to name a few). It is definitely a quick read, but enjoyable as long as you don't mind someone else basically rambling on about their beliefs as a thinly-disguised political platform upon which Taft runs.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

So I saw the movie Hugo and thought to myself, I bet that was a book! And looky here, it is! Now to the unfortunate part...I should have read the book first (always a must). The whole time reading (which only takes about 2 hours since most of the book is in black and white drawn pictures), I kept wondering how the Station Inspector's romance was going to be introduced, when Hugo would hang off the side of the clock, when more images from Georges' movies would be shown...and none of that happened. I should also mention that during the movie, I was thinking about the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight Tonight" music video...if you've seen the movie, watch the video and you will understand! Suffice it to say, I think the movie may have been better than the book (the horrors, I know, I don't need to hear it) because of the subplot of the Station Inspector romance it and also because one could see the actual footage of Georges' old movies.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I really, really enjoyed this book, and it was a breeze to read. The story centers around a girl, the titled Frankie Landau-Banks. She attends a boarding (?) school that her father went to starting her freshman year, where she is essentially invisible until she becomes a sophmore with boobs and a boyfriend who happens to be the most popular guy at school (and a senior...gasp!). She is very annoyed, though, because Mr. Boyfriend keeps ditching her for his friend Alpha on a oh-too-regular basis, so one night she follows him and discovers that the secret male society that her father randomly referenced being a part of is actually true, with her boyfriend and Alpha as the Kings. She knows her father talked about some book of the secret society's, so she goes out to find it, and in the meantime, poses as Alpha online and sets up ridiculous pranks against the school, very a la Looking for Alaska. Her whole point is to show that girls can be just as good as guys when it comes to pranks and that the secret society should not be male-only. I really loved the feminist bent to the story (anything boys can do, girls can do...better), which is something I would not have picked up on had I been an actual teen reader and/or not suddenly wanting to know about feminism and its roots, thank you, Republican Party, for your War on Women. 

Catfight: Women and Competition by Leora Tanenbaum

I really really really enjoyed this book. My only caveat is that it is 10 years old, so Facebook is known as the "face book" (that is verbatim from the book). Tanenbaum does a wonderful job of exhibiting why and how women compete against each other in the realms of beauty, dating, careers, and motherhood. Since it was written before Facebook became a household name, it would be interesting to see how the book would change if it were updated today. Facebook has become the ultimate in competition--I, personally, have been Facebook-free for almost three months and life has gotten a lot better. I would spend so much time on it, essentially comparing myself to all my friends and acquaintances daily. I saw who started a relationship, who ended one, who got engaged, married, had a baby, graduated, owned a house, etc., and always felt that my life did not measure up. But it measures up just fine for me right now, since I no longer constantly compare myself to people I rarely see in real life, let alone people who truly matter on a daily basis (that is not to say that I compare myself to people I see every day). I definitely recommend this book (and sorry about the Facebook tangent)!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Since I enjoy dystopian novels, but had not read this, I decided to give it a whirl. The book is definitely over 50 years old, and goes on a lot of seemingly random tangents (that still seem random thinking about them right now...). The book centers around Guy Montag, a fireman who sets books aflame. Books are feared since they breed ideas, and society has been set up in such a way that not much thought is used. I found the story odd and difficult to get in to. I don't much recommend it, such there was not much for plot or character development. Everything pretty much centered around the downfall of society and how books are not really evil things and should not be outlawed or burned.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Obviously, as a reader, you know how this book ends, so the story is really why they broke up. Minerva (goes by Min) has a box of mementos from her relationship with Ed (honestly, what girl doesn't collect things like that, or maybe it's only during their first relationship, like me). The whole story is her going through each item in the box, starting with the beer caps from the first time they talked and he asked her for her number, to the rose petals lining the bottom of the box, obtained from the florist during the break up. It is a compelling story and will make everyone remember their first love and the pain they felt during that time of betrayal/loss. I thought this book was very interesting, and also sad, and kind of odd that it is told from the POV of Min while the author is a male, but whatev.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Robots. Apocalypse. Robopocalypse. The book is told in a unique way, with each chapter prefaced and suffixed (?) with Cormac's account of the "New War," where a Rob named Archos became active and directed all robots to attack humans, or at least told them that humans and Robs couldn't coexist (and other Robs believed him). At first, the book is very confusing, starting with seven different accounts pre-New War, and each part (there are five parts to the book) having less and less accounts, directly corresponding with the storytellers who have died due to the New War. Eventually, some humans meet up with some Robs who are "free" aka not under Archos' rule and are willing to help humans defeat Archos. At first when I was about 100 pages into this book, I was so scared. People say Stephen King is horror (and I have read my fair share of SK)? Pfft! Not compared to the dreaded thought of cars and robots and computers and cell phones and everything technological developing its own free will and deciding to use it against humans! Man it had me up at night thinking of these things and what would humans really do if something like this actually happened. Because...you never know...

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is told from the point of view of five-year-old Jack. The story is very Jaycee Dugard-inspired. Jack's mother (forever referred to as "Ma," her proper name is never revealed) is lured to help a man (known as "Old Nick") find his "missing dog," or so Old Nick tells her, when she is 19. She is then kidnapped and held in an 11' x 11' soundproofed garden shed which is called Room. Old Nick holds her and rapes her, leading her to bear a child who is stillborn, and then she has Jack a year later. She tries very hard to make Room an environment for a growing boy, but when Jack turns 5, she tells him hard truths, like what happens "in TV" is actually real (instead of letting him know the truth and not understand why he couldn't partake in it). With this knowledge, she comes up with a plan to save both of them and that requires Jack to be "sick" and then "die" from the sickness, leaving Old Nick no choice but to remove his "body" from Room. While en route to a burial spot, Jack escapes from the rug and is rescued, and helps lead the police back to Room to save Ma. The rest of the story is about Jack adjusting to life Outside of Room and dealing with all it has to offer (such like what happens when one "pets" bees). It was a very good story, I can see why it's been so popular. 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

If you are looking for a book to curl up in the bathtub with and have your razor and Death Cab for Cutie handy, this is the book to do the job!!! It is set during the Dust Bowl and is about Tom Joad who just got out of prison. He returns home to his family in Oklahoma and finds that they are leaving to go to California to get some jobs that they've seen in handbills. He goes with them and along with the way, some family members die. They eventually make it to California where they find that they are not wanted (and are called "Okies," similar to the N-word for African-Americans) and that jobs are sparse. What jobs they can find pay "starvation wages," so essentially everything they make in a day goes directly to buy food and not much else. More bad things happen, and then more bad things, and then the book ends. If you are looking for something uplifting, do NOT read this book. Grab yourself a box of tissues instead.

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

I thought this was one of the funniest books I have ever read! Obviously, it is touchy material--it is about polygamy and the author is a Mormon--but one of the children, Rusty, is hilarious! A lot of his chapters, told from his eleven year old vision of the world, reminds me of A Christmas Story, when Ralphie has his daydreams about protecting his family with his coveted Red Rider BB gun. That kind of funny. So the story is about Golden, a man with four wives and 28 children, who has a failing construction business and lies to everybody about his current work project. Everyone thinks he is building a senior center in Nevada (lives in Utah, so no one goes to check the facts), but he is really building a brothel, Pussycat Manor II. Inevitably, he stumbles upon the brothel owner's wife (Huila) and they spend time together and he falls for her. But all hell breaks loose when Ted Leo (said brothel owner) finds out. Golden's past is expolored, and the author uses a significant amount of foreshadowing, which isn't obvious at the time, but makes it a good reflection at the end of the novel. It is so sad that this book has only been checked out four times--including my reading--since being available at the library since June, 2010. It is definitely not a book to miss, and introduces one to the theology behind polygamy and why this belief system is still kept even today.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This book has won awards, people. Why, I am not sure... My friend Hillary was the one who let me borrow this, as John Green is one of her favorite authors ever. She even went to a book signing recently! But anyway... It is divided into two parts: before and after. What happens "in between" is what drives the last half of the book, but the first half is about "Pudge" (real name Miles) who decides to move from Florida to go to the boarding school his father went to in search of the Great Perhaps (this book is semi-autobiographical and Culver Creek is based on a school that John Green went to in Alabama). While there, he has a roommate known as the Colonel and falls hopelessly in love with a feminist, perplexing girl named Alaska (thus the title). But Alaska has a boyfriend that she is in love with named Jake, but she does think that Miles is cute... Anyway, John Green recently released The Fault in Our Stars which is supposed to be amazing. Maybe I'll read that later on this year sometime. 

Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre

Enclave is based in post apocalyptic NYC where people have gone to live underground in the subway tunnels. Everybody's lives have been truncated and they live together in communes called enclaves. This book is about Deuce, a Huntress in the College enclave who is paired with Fade, another Hunter from what they call "Topside." Hunters make up part of the societal system in the enclave; the other two groups are Breeders and Builders. Hunters leave the enclave and go into the subway tunnels where they find food and battle Freaks (they sound like zombie meets animal since they have claws). Freaks eat humans, but Hunters fight them off to protect the enclave. For some reason, they seem to be getting smarter, and Deuce disobeys orders at some point and is sent with Fade to Nassau enclave, which is about three days away. There, they find all of Nassau's people eaten by the fat and happy Freaks that roam that enclave. Terrified, they return to College enclave and report what they have seen and what they think--that Freaks are getting smarter. The elders of the enclave (that are about 25 years old...Fade and Deuce are fifteenish) wave that off and think they are silly. Deuce finds that Fade (a man with a mysterious past of his own) is part of a quiet rebellion against the elders and how the enclave is set up. Deuce believes in the elders and what they tell them (that acid rain burns things Topside, that no one can survive up there, etc), but is appalled when she figures out that Fade is right when one of her friends is framed for hoarding (something that receives banishment from the enclave). Deuce claims that she is the one who framed her friend, a fact that people know is not true, and Fade says that he helped her. They are banished from College enclave and are sent Topside, where Deuce finds that the elders have lied about a lot of things. From there, Fade and Deuce scavenge the remains of NYC and battle against the gangers, as they call them. Eventually they end up heading north, where "Fade's sire" (father) told him that it was safer, but along the way, the run into more Freaks. Will they ever be safe? I thought this was a great book and a fun read, it made me really think I was running around the subway tunnels and battling Freaks. I am pretty sure there will be a sequel to this, and I am looking forward to it!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus is an overly long, drawn-out tale about two children--a boy and a girl--being chosen to outdo the other with the power of magic while being contained within the confines of a circus that is open only at night. Their magic teachers decide this when Celia is six years old and Marco fourteen. Of course, when they both are at the circus, they fall in love, and then are distraught to discover that the winner of this contest of sorts is decided by one of them dying in one way or another (not magic inflicted by either party). It gets very convoluted and confusing, with each chapter jumping between locations and times. It made me want to pull out my hair at points because I did not have a clue what was going on, and so many characters are involved that by the end I just had to read it and go with the flow and assume I knew who the author was chattering on and on about. This book would have been much better if it had been more tightly written, perhaps cutting 100 pages from its girth (387 pages). There are of course a myriad of sub-plots and whatnot, but something I kept thinking of while reading this was Anne of Green Gables when it is said that it is better to use short words than long ones.

Okay, done whining, but I would definitely put this in the same bin as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This book is told from the POV of nine-year-old Oskar Schell whose father died in one of the towers from the World Trade Center. Most of the book takes place about two years after his father, Thomas, dies. One day, Oskar is in his parents' bedroom and somehow (I don't remember how...not really a memorable book) a blue vase crashes to the floor and gets broken. Inside, there was an envelope with "Black" written on the outside and a key inside. The entire book is devoted to Oskar finding out what this key opens, and he begins by tracking down every person with the last name of Black in NYC. No. Joke. The book also has random flashbacks that take until the last chapter to figure out who wrote what. Quite daunting, in other words. I am not sure how they made a movie out of this, or why, since nothing seems to really matter at the end. It harkens me back to Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. As in the world of reading, you win some, you lose some. Take note: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anis-shivani/the-15-most-overrated-con_b_672974.html#s123751&title=Jonathan_Safran_Foer. According to this article, supposedly this book is Foer's best book yet. That does not encourage me to read Everything is Illuminated at all! The best part of this book is Oskar's random "inventions." That's pretty much the only saving grace.

Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie

This is the sequal to Matched. Crossed is told from a different point of view than Matched: it goes from third person to first person, alternating between Ky and Cassia's stories/POVs. I found that hard to get used to since the tone is so similar between the two, but whatev.

It starts (and goes) fairly slow compared to its predecessor, but still a lot happens in the book. Cassia is on the hunt for Ky because she loves him and wants to be reunited with him, while Ky is on the hunt for Cassia for the same reason. Ky is bent on getting back to Society, while Cassia is on a mission to get to the Outer Provinces. Cassia beats Ky to the punch and ends up finding him before he finds her. Then the story goes on and on about the Carving, a giant Grand Canyon-eque landmark thing. Cassia is searching/following Ky in it, Ky leaves it, Ky returns into it, Cassia finds him, they go back into the Carving, they meander in the Carving, they leave the Carving, blah blah blah Carving this, Carving that, zzzzz! ANYWAY, they finally make their way out of the Carving and they are on a mission to get to the Rising (an anti-Society outfit). Ky doesn't want to be a part of the Rising, but Cassia wants to be a part of something bigger than herself. Will Ky find it in himself to follow Cassia wherever she decides to go. Will she choose Ky or the Rising?

Nail-biter to the end!

Thankfully, the third installment of this trilogy comes out in November!

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Matched is very similar to the Hunger Games trilogy. It is about a girl named Cassia and how her Society has everything rigged set up. Everything is based off of predictions and control of variables. Everyone is poisoned dies on their 80th birthday, those who chose to be Matched (thus the title) are on their 17th birthday and all sign a marriage Contract on their 21st in the hopes that they start popping out kids when they're 24. They don't even have the ability to choose their jobs, everything is what they test in to and also what they are predicted to be. And when I say predicted, I don't mean tarot card, I mean it is what they are most likely to do or become or to match with. ANYWAY, Cassia gets Matched with her close friend Xander. Later when she looks at the microcard that everyone gets with their Match, she sees Xander and then for a split second she sees Ky, another boy she knows. Of course, then she must explore and find out more about Ky and it leads to her to question the Society and how everything is set up and there are no free choices.

This is the first book in the trilogy, the second one came out November, 2011, and the third will come out November, 2012.

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu

So I thought that this was a cute book, but very a la Hunger Games and Matched. The plot was fairly simple. It is a story woven around two main characters, Day and June, and the quest for truth about their country, the Republic (which Day knows more about than June, even though June has been top-ranked in the Republic's military for forever). Of course, it is a love story, with June originally pitted against Day and out to capture him because she believes that he is responsible for her brother's death, but when she does meet him (however, she does not know it is Day since his name is never said), she finds him to be a very kind boy. (They are both 15. This is a YA book.) As to be expected, romance blooms and June must either trust Day and what he says, or believe what the Republic tells her is true.

reading roundup: 2011

Okay, folks. I was not too terribly great at blogging consistently about every book I read, but here are the 29 (!) books I read in 2011 by title:

Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker

Around the Bend by Shirley Jump

Carrie by Stephen King

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

Matched by Ally Condie

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Sex, Lies, and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson

Sighs Matter by Marianne Stillings

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Art of Marriage: A Guide to Living Life as Two by Catherine Blyth

The Borrower: A Novel by Rebecca Makkai

The Exile by Diana Gabaldon

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Mercy Room by Gilles Rozier

The Shack by William P. Young

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson

Things I’d Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman

This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson

Under the Dome by Stephen King

What Alice Knew by Paula Cohen

Wicked by Gregory Maguire